- Industry: Art history
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The process of joining two pieces of metal by softening or melting both surfaces to be joined by the application of heat.
Industry:Art history
A printmaking method distinct from woodcut in that the line is incised into the woodblock, rather than the background being cut away to leave a line in relief. So it is an intaglio method. Wood engraving is usually done on the end grain of a block of boxwood, which is very hard, and so extremely fine detail is possible. Wood engraving became widely used in the nineteenth century as a method of reproducing pictures in books, newspapers and journals before the invention of photo-mechanical methods of reproduction, but was also occasionally used by artists, such as Edward Calvert, as an original printmaking medium.
Industry:Art history
A method of relief printing from a block of wood cut along the grain. The block is carved so that an image stands out in relief. The relief image is then inked and paper placed against its surface and run through a press. It is possible to make a woodcut without a press (Japanese Ukiyo-e prints for example) by placing the inked block against a sheet of paper and applying pressure by hand. Woodblock printing was used in Europe from the twelfth century, at first for printing textiles, though images were printed on paper by the late fourteenth century.
Industry:Art history
From Italian term verismo, meaning realism in its sense of gritty subject matter. Was originally applied around 1900 to the violent melodramatic operas of Puccini and Mascagni. In painting also has come to mean realism in its modern sense of representing objects with a high degree of truth to appearances. See realism, modern realism, naturalism.
Industry:Art history
Blanket term referring to almost every aspect of British life and culture during Queen Victoria's long reign from 1837 to 1901. In relation to social behaviour, art and design however, it carries connotations of stuffiness, repressiveness and rigid devotion to tradition. In art specifically the term is perhaps exemplified in the genre painting which provides an extraordinary panorama of the life of the period, including Rural Naturalism and Social Realism, but Victorian genre perhaps particularly associated with the sentimental and reassuring work of Wilkie and his followers.
Industry:Art history
The introduction of video in the 1960s radically altered the progress of art. The most important aspect of video was that it was cheap and easy to make, enabling artists to record and document their performances easily. This put less pressure on where their art was situated giving them freedom outside the gallery. One of the early pioneers of video art was Bruce Nauman who used video to reveal the hidden creative processes of the artist by filming himself in his studio. As video technology became more sophisticated, the art evolved from real-time, grainy, black and white recordings to the present day emphasis on large-scale installations in colour. Bill Viola's multi-screened works are theatrical and often have a narrative; and Gillian Wearing uses a documentary style to make art about the hidden aspects of society.
Industry:Art history
The computer scientist Jaron Lanier popularised the term virtual reality in the early 1980s to describe a technology that enables a person to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it based on a real or an imagined place. Virtual reality environments are usually visual experiences, displayed on computer screens or through special stereoscopic displays. Some simulations include additional sensory information such as sound through speakers or headphones. Explorations into virtual reality by artists began in a relatively modest way; in 2002 the duo Langlands and Bell created a virtual reality tour of Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Afghanistan and audiences were invited to navigate the building using a joystick. With the introduction of Second Life on the internet, artists are now installing galleries and staging virtual exhibitions in the alternative virtual world. The Dutch team Art Tower stage exhibitions and sell art in Second Life and Cao Fei, who represented China at the 2007 Venice Biennale reproduced her exhibition in the Chinese pavilion in Second Life.
Industry:Art history
A large, glazed cabinet used for displaying art objects. Often used in museums, the vitrine was appropriated by artists like Joseph Cornell in the 1950s and Joseph Beuys in the mid 1960s to display unusual materials they invested with spiritual or personal significance. Other artists who have used vitrines in their work include the American artist Jeff Koons and the British sculptor Rebecca Warren.
Industry:Art history
A large-scale contemporary art exhibition that occurs every three years. Like a biennial it is often attached to a particular place and is typified by its national or international outlook. The Tate Triennial showcases new developments in British art and is always curated by a different person, often a director of another art institution. Other triennials include the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, which was established in 1993, is the only major international exhibition to focus on art from Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
Industry:Art history
